Amazing Stories from the University of Alaska Anchorage

UAA named a Tree Campus USA university for the third year in a row

May 23, 2012

The University of Alaska Anchorage earned Tree Campus USA recognition again from the National Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters for its dedication in 2011 to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. This is the third year UAA has been named a Tree Campus USA university.

Tree Campus USA is a national program that honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy management of their campus forests and for engaging the community in environmental stewardship.

“Community trees and forest provide economic, social and environmental benefits that contribute to the high quality of life Alaskan’s enjoy,” said Alaska State Forester John “Chris” Maisch. “However, a healthy community forest does not happen by chance—it is the result of proper planning, management and community investment. We appreciate the commitment you have made to manage your community forest and we are confient that UAA will realize a return far in excess of the investment made.”

UAA met the five core standards of tree care and community engagement in order to receive Tree Campus USA status. The standards are: establish a campus tree advisory committee; evidence of a campus tree-care plan; verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan; involvement in an Arbor Day observance; and the institution of a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

The Arbor Day Foundation launched Tree Campus USA in the fall of 2008 by planting trees at nine college campuses throughout the United States. That year, 20 schools were named a Tree Campus USA and in three years the number of schools has more than tripled.